Smart shingles

ABSTRACT

At least one shingle is integrated with logic circuitry and various other components which enable high-level functionality and automated system diagnostics. Each shingle can automatically determine its absolute position on a rooftop and/or its position relative to other shingles in the smart shingle system. Each shingle can also detect various changes in its own power generation, efficiency, and/or operating conditions, as well as those of neighboring shingles. Each shingle can then leverage this information to conduct system diagnostics and possibly to generate and/or execute recommended solutions. In another embodiment, each shingle can be coupled to a centralized controller which can perform the same automapping and diagnostic functions. The controller can also monitor the power usage of the building to help optimize the power generation of the smart shingle system. In some embodiments, the smart shingle system can be outfitted with heating components and/or actuators to help automate the process of keeping the smart shingles clear of debris.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/592,722 filed on Nov. 30, 2017, entitled “SMART SHINGLES.”The entirety of the aforementioned application is incorporated byreference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the field of building-integratedphotovoltaics. More particularly, this disclosure pertains to systemsand methods concerning photovoltaic shingles with integrated logiccircuitry and sensors which enable the automation of solar power systemdiagnostics and other tasks.

BACKGROUND

As evidence of mankind's deleterious impact on the environment hascontinued to mount, research and development concerning renewable energytechnology has increased commensurately. Building-integratedphotovoltaics (BIPV) represents one such field of technology. BIPVinvolves integrating solar panels into buildings while the buildings areunder construction or renovation, wherein the solar panels replacetraditional building components (i.e. roofs, walls, façades, skylights,etc.), rather than retroactively installing solar panels onto buildingsafter construction/renovation and in addition to traditional buildingcomponents. By installing the solar panels during the initialconstruction or subsequent renovation and by using the solar panels inplace of some traditional building components, labor and material costsare saved.

One area of BIPV that has recently attracted market attention is solarshingles, such as those produced by Tesla™. Solar shingles function asboth solar panels (i.e. they convert sunlight into electricity) andtraditional roofing shingles (i.e. they help to protect the buildingfrom inclement weather and serve to enhance its aesthetic appeal).Because conventional, rooftop solar panels are visually distinguishablefrom normal shingles, many consider them to be aestheticallyunappealing. Solar shingles, in contrast, look and function like normalshingles, and so they integrate seamlessly into rooftops.

Despite the incredible technological advancement which solar shinglesrepresent, they are not perfect. Current solar shingle systems requiremanual inspection and offer users no reliable way of conducting systemdiagnostics. For example, when a conventional solar shingle is damagedor obstructed, the power generation of the entire solar shingle systemdecreases. However, assuming that the user monitors the systemdiligently enough to notice the diminished power output, he/she does notknow which shingles are affected. Moreover, the user does not knowwhether the affected shingles (whichever ones they may be) are actuallydamaged or are merely obstructed (i.e. by debris, leaves, shadows, birddroppings, etc.) or whether the sun had simply shone less during theprevious monitoring period. Furthermore, even if the user correctlyguesses that the affected shingles are damaged, he/she does not knowwhich component of each affected shingle is to blame.

Additionally, current solar shingle systems require manual maintenance.In other words, the user (or the user's agent) must physically interactwith the rooftop in order to clear any debris, leaves, or otherobstruction that prevents the solar shingles from gathering as muchsunlight as they otherwise would. Although the quick removal of leaves,a tree branch, or bird droppings is not necessarily overly burdensome tothe user, the removal of snow and/or ice build-up in the winter can betime-consuming and dangerous.

Lastly, current solar shingles do not leverage the wealth ofreadily-available information that pertains to a building's power usageand generation. For example, conventional solar shingle systems do notdynamically take into consideration the real-time power usage of thebuilding, the time of day, the season, any local weather forecasts,local electricity prices, etc. Making use of this information can helpto optimize the power generation of the solar shingle system.

The subject claimed invention helps to address these short-comings ofconventional solar shingles.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the specification inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of thespecification. This summary is not an extensive overview of thespecification. It is intended to neither identify key or criticalelements of the specification nor delineate the scope of any particularimplementations of the specification, or any scope of the claims. Itspurpose is to present some concepts of the specification in a simplifiedform as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented inthis disclosure.

Systems and methods disclosed herein relate to smart shingles (i.e.photovoltaic shingles with integrated logic circuitry that enables theautomation of solar power system diagnostics and other tasks). At leastone shingle of a building is integrated with a solar collector, whichconverts solar energy to electricity. The solar collector, which iscomprised of any suitable photovoltaic material, is optionally coupledto an inverter, located outside or inside the shingle. The inverterreceives direct current (DC) electricity from the solar collector andconverts it to alternating current (AC) electricity to be fed into theelectrical grid of the building or to be used directly by any appliancesof the building. As one having ordinary skill in the art willappreciate, no inverter is required if AC electricity is not needed forthe application in question.

In one embodiment, the at least one shingle is coupled to a battery,located outside or inside the shingle. In such a case, the DCelectricity produced by the solar collector can be used to charge thebattery, which then helps to power the electronic components of theshingle, which are discussed below.

The at least one shingle is further integrated with an electronicprocessor, a computer-readable memory, and a location component. Thelocation component determines the location of the shingle relative toother smart shingles (i.e. shingles integrated with solar collectors andlogic circuitry) and stores that information as the shingle address.Alternatively, the location component can simply be given a shingleaddress to store, obviating the need to determine the shingle address.

The at least one shingle is coupled to a controller. The controller,which also comprises an electronic processor and a computer-readablememory, can leverage the shingle address of each smart shingle coupledto it in order to automatically map (i.e. automap) the locations of thesmart shingles relative to each other. In this way, the controller candetermine which smart shingles are neighbors. Such information can helpin performing system maintenance and diagnostics.

In one embodiment, the at least one shingle can further be coupled to aconverter, located outside or inside the shingle. In such a case, theconverter converts AC electricity from the electrical grid of thebuilding into DC electricity. This DC electricity can then be used topower the electronic components of the smart shingle. In anotherembodiment, the converter can feed DC electricity to a shingle'sbattery, so as to charge the battery.

In one embodiment, the at least one shingle can be integrated with athermo-electric component (i.e. a heat exchanger). The thermo-electriccomponent can convert heat from the sun as well as latent heat from thebuilding into DC electricity, which is then fed to an inverter (ifpresent) and/or a battery (if present). In this way, the energy outputof the at least one shingle is increased.

In various other embodiments, the at least one shingle is integratedwith at least one sensor so as to sense changes in the shingle's powergeneration, efficiency, and/or operating conditions. For example, ashingle may be outfitted with: a power sensor (i.e. to determine theelectric power produced by the shingle); an efficiency sensor (i.e. todetermine how well or poorly the shingle is producing electricity); atemperature sensor (i.e. to determine the ambient temperature as well asthe temperature within the building); a pressure sensor (i.e. todetermine when something is physically contacting the shingle); a lightsensor (i.e. to determine whether the sunlight is wholly or partiallyblocked by some obstruction); a moisture sensor (i.e. to determinewhether moisture is present within the electronic compartments of theshingle itself, thereby indicating insufficient waterproofing); acorrosion and/or continuity sensor (i.e. to determine whether theelectric connections coupling the shingle and its electronic componentsto the controller and the electrical grid are damaged); and/or amaintenance component (i.e. to track the maintenance and repair recordof the shingle). All of this information can be leveraged by thecontroller to conduct system diagnostics.

In one embodiment, the controller further comprises a notificationcomponent, which notifies the user of the data detected by the sensors(if any).

In another embodiment, the controller (or the shingle itself) can beoutfitted with an artificial intelligence component that can leveragethe automap information and the diagnostic information determined by thesensors (if any) in order to diagnose the problems and recommendsolutions to be taken by the user. For example, if one shingle sensesreduced power output while all its neighboring shingles do not, theartificial intelligence component can determine that it is more likelythan not that that particular shingle is damaged. However, if theaffected shingle's pressure sensor and light sensor are both activated,the artificial intelligence component can determine that it is morelikely than not that that particular shingle is being obstructed bydebris and can then notify the user that said debris should be cleared.

In other embodiments, the at least one shingle can be outfitted with aheating component so as to easily clear away snow and/or ice build-up,one or more actuating components so as to help clear other movabledebris as well as to adjust the angle of incidence between the shingleand the sunlight, and even light-emitting diodes (LEDs) so as to enableoptical signals and indicators to be shown on the shingle.

The following description and the drawings set forth certainillustrative aspects of the specification. These aspects are indicative,however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of thespecification may be employed. Other advantages and novel features ofthe specification will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of the specification when considered in conjunction with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Numerous aspects, implementations, and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example methodology concerning automated solarsystem diagnostics in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesystem comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller, anelectrical grid, and an inverter in accordance with various aspectsdisclosed herein;

FIG. 3 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesystem comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller andan electrical grid, wherein each smart shingle comprises its owninverter, in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 4 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesystem comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller,wherein the smart shingle comprises subcomponents in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 5 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesystem comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller,wherein the smart shingle comprises a converter in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 6 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesystem comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller,wherein the smart shingle comprises a thermo-electric component inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 7 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a power sensor component in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 8 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising an efficiency sensor component in accordancewith various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 9 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a temperature sensor component in accordancewith various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 10 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a pressure sensor component in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 11 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a light sensor component in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 12 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a moisture sensor component in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 13 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a corrosion/continuity sensor component inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 14 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a maintenance component in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 15 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising an artificial intelligence component inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 16 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising an inter-shingle communication component inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 17 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising a heating component in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 18 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising an actuator component in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 19 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle comprising an LED component in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 20 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle controller comprising various subcomponents in accordancewith various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 21 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle controller comprising a power regulation component inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 22 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle controller comprising a building monitoring component andprotocol in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 23 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle controller comprising a time/date component in accordancewith various aspects disclosed herein;

FIG. 24 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle controller comprising an artificial intelligence componentin accordance with various aspects disclosed herein; and

FIG. 25 illustrates a high-level functional block diagram of an examplesmart shingle controller comprising an internet communication componentin accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

FIG. 26 is an example computing environment.

FIG. 27 is an example networking environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects or features of this disclosure are described withreference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used torefer to like elements throughout. In this specification, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of this disclosure. It should be understood, however, thatcertain aspects of disclosure may be practiced without these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform to facilitate describing this disclosure.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,”“platform,” “layer,” “controller,” “terminal,” “station,” “node,”“interface” are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or anentity related to, or that is part of, an operational apparatus with oneor more specific functionalities, wherein such entities can be eitherhardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or softwarein execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited tobeing, a process running on a processor, a processor, a hard disk drive,multiple storage drives (of optical or magnetic storage medium)including affixed (i.e. screwed or bolted) or removably affixedsolid-state storage drives; an object; an executable; a thread ofexecution; a computer-executable program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a server and the server canbe a component. One or more components can reside within a processand/or thread of execution, and a component can be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Also,components as described herein can execute from various computerreadable storage media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (i.e. datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry which is operated by asoftware or a firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can include a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that provides at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. As further yet another example, interface(s)can include input/output (I/O) components as well as associatedprocessor, application, or Application Programming Interface (API)components. While the foregoing examples are directed to aspects of acomponent, the exemplified aspects or features also apply to a system,platform, interface, layer, controller, terminal, and the like.

As used herein, the terms “to infer” and “inference” refer generally tothe process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system,environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured viaevents and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specificcontext or action, or can generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. The inference can be probabilistic (that is, thecomputation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data and events). Inference can also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of newevents or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored eventdata, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporalproximity, and whether the events and data come from one or severalevent and data sources.

In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean anyof the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs Aor B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; Xemploys B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and“an” as used in this application and the appended claims shouldgenerally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwiseor clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.

Furthermore, the term “set” as employed herein excludes the empty set;i.e. the set with no elements therein. Thus, a “set” in the subjectdisclosure includes one or more elements or entities. As anillustration, a set of controllers includes one or more controllers; aset of data resources includes one or more data resources; etc.Likewise, the term “group” as utilized herein refers to a collection ofone or more entities; i.e. a group of nodes refers to one or more nodes.

Various aspects or features will be presented in terms of systems thatmay include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. Itis to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may includeadditional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include allof the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection withthe figures. A combination of these approaches also can be used.

Now, systems and methods disclosed herein relate to smart shingles (i.e.photovoltaic shingles with integrated logic circuitry, which are capableof performing automated system diagnostics and certain other tasks). Toprovide a thorough understanding of the subject claimed invention,attention is invited to the appended figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example methodology 100 concerning automatedsystem diagnostics of a building's smart shingle system in accordancewith various aspects disclosed herein. Method 100 demonstrates thehigh-level operation and functionality of the subject claimed invention.At 102, the smart shingle system collects solar and/or thermal energy.At 104, the smart shingle system converts the collected energy intoelectricity which is then transmitted to the electrical grid of thebuilding. This is accomplished through the use of solar panels (i.e.through the photo-electric effect) and/or heat exchangers (i.e. throughthe thermo-electric effect) that are integrated into the smart shingles.Alternatively, or possibly concurrently, some or all of the generatedelectricity can be channeled directly to appliances, machines,computers, electronics, and/or any other device or application thatrequires electrical power.

At 106, the smart shingle system collects real-time data regarding thepower usage of the building, the power generation of the smart shinglesystem, and/or the various operating conditions of the smart shinglesystem. In some embodiments, the smart shingle system can detect thelocation of each smart shingle, the amount of electric power beingproduced by each smart shingle, the efficiency of each smart shingle,the temperature of each smart shingle as well as the temperature of theambient air and the temperature of the highest-level in the building,the pressure applied to the surface of each smart shingle, the lightincident on the surface of each smart shingle, the moisture level withinthe electronic compartments of each smart shingle, and/or the efficacyof the electric connections within each smart shingle and the smartshingle system as a whole. Various other sensors may be integrated intothe smart shingle system in accordance with this disclosure and thespirit of the subject claimed invention.

At 108, the smart shingle system may notify the user of the data thatwas collected at 106. This may be accomplished by any means suitable fornotification of one or more users. For example, the smart shingle systemmay notify by means of a visual message and/or alert composed of textand/or numbers that is received and displayed on a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a mobile device, dedicated hardware built directlyinto the smart shingle system, any other device capable of displayingsuch visual messages/alerts, and/or any combination thereof. In anotherembodiment, the smart shingle system may notify by means of an audiblemessage and/or alert that is received and/or played by a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a mobile device, dedicated hardware builtdirectly into the smart shingle system, any other device capable ofplaying such audible messages/alerts, and/or any combination thereof. Instill another embodiment, the smart shingle system may notify by meansof vibratory messages and/or alerts, in much the same way that mobiledevices vibrate when they receive text messages or emails. Moreover, thelevel of detail conveyed in the notification is immaterial. For example,the subject claimed invention equally encompasses a notification whichconveys the exact numeric values recorded by a smart shingle's sensorsas well as a notification which indicates merely that the sensors havebeen activated.

In one embodiment, the smart shingle system, at 110, uses the datacollected at 106 to determine whether any smart shingle is damaged,obstructed, or otherwise in need of intervention (i.e. cleaning, repair,maintenance, etc.). In another embodiment, an artificial intelligencecomponent can be integrated into the smart shingle system so as to applyinferential logic and/or pattern recognition in order to conduct systemdiagnostics (i.e. analyze the collected data and infer likely problemsconcerning the smart shingle system and/or their correspondingsolutions). For example, if a smart shingle system senses a singleshingle that produces less power than all its neighboring shingles, theartificial intelligence component may infer that the affected shingle issomehow damaged and/or obstructed. If the shingle's moisture sensorindicated that water had leaked into the electronics compartments or ifthe shingle's corrosion/continuity sensor indicated that the shingle'selectrical connections are suboptimal, the artificial intelligencecomponent may infer that the shingle is defective. However, if the lightsensor is activated (i.e. indicating that the shingle is not collectingas much light as it otherwise could be) while neither the moisturesensor nor the corrosion/continuity sensor is activated, the artificialintelligence component may infer that the shingle is obstructed ratherthan damaged. Depending on information gathered from various othersensors, the artificial intelligence component may determine recommendedactions to be taken by the user in order to solve the problem.

Finally, at 112, the smart shingle system notifies the user by anyappropriate means, as explained above in connection with step 106, ofthe diagnosed problems and recommended solutions.

As shown by method 100, the automation of solar power system diagnosticsenables the subject claimed invention to quickly, accurately, andreliably identify problems related to solar shingle systems as opposedto forcing the user to constantly, manually monitor said systems. Asmentioned in the Background section above, current solar shingle systemsrequire manual inspection and offer users no reliable way of conductingsystem diagnostics. For example, if a conventional solar shingle weredamaged or obstructed, the power generation of the entire solar shinglesystem would decrease. However, it is not guaranteed that the user wouldmonitor the solar power generation enough to notice the diminished poweroutput. Even if the user did, he/she would not know which shingles weredefective and/or obstructed. Moreover, the user would not know whetherthe affected shingles were actually damaged or were merely obstructed(i.e. by debris, leaves, shadows, bird droppings, etc.) or whether thesun had simply shone less during the previous monitoring period.Furthermore, even if the user correctly guessed that the affectedshingles were damaged, he/she would not know which subcomponent of eachaffected shingle was to blame. All this doubt ultimately forcesconventional solar power system diagnostics to be a guessing game. Thesubject claimed invention, however, solves this problem by integratingeach solar shingle with logic circuitry and/or a set of sensors toquickly and accurately pinpoint and solve (to the extent possible)performance anomalies.

Now, FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary system 200 comprising at least onesmart shingle coupled to a controller, an electrical grid, and aninverter in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein. In otherwords, FIG. 2 simply shows the high-level interconnection of someprimary components of one embodiment of the subject claimed invention.As shown, a set of smart shingles 202 is located on rooftop 204. Eachsmart shingle 202 is designed to function as both a solar collector(i.e. solar panel, module, cell, and/or array) and a conventionalroofing shingle (i.e. to protect the building from inclement weather andto augment the aesthetic appeal of the building). Thus, each smartshingle 202 is approximately the same size and shape as conventionalroofing shingles but is integrated with solar panels and additionallogic circuitry so as to enable the higher functionality whichconstitutes the subject claimed invention. Furthermore, each smartshingle 202 is designed to be weather and water resistant, according toweatherproofing and waterproofing methods known in the art, so as toprotect the building as well as the electronic components within eachshingle.

Smart shingles 202 are communicatively connected to controller 208 viawireless or wired data connection 206. Wireless or wired data connection206 can comprise any suitable means of electronic communication whichwould enable controller 208 to collect data from and/or otherwiseinteract with smart shingles 202, including but not limited to Ethernet,USB, Micro USB, Mini USB, Lightning™ port, wireless bus, Bluetooth™,etc. Controller 208 is simply one or more computerized devices which cancollect data from, and, in some instances, send instructions to, smartshingles 202. As will be explained in more detail below, controller 208continuously (or less frequently, in an embodiment) monitors smartshingles 202 and, in some embodiments, uses that monitored informationto perform system diagnostics and recommend appropriate courses ofaction.

As shown, smart shingles 202 collect solar energy 212 from sun 210 byabsorbing sunlight. Smart shingles 202 then convert solar energy 212into DC electricity 214. This occurs via a set of solar collectors (i.e.any photovoltaic cell, module, panel, and/or array) that is integratedinto smart shingles 202.

Because most commercial and industrial appliances and devices require ACelectricity, DC electricity 214 is channeled to inverter 216, whichconverts DC electricity 214 to AC electricity 218. Finally, ACelectricity 218 is channeled to electrical grid 220 of the building.Alternatively, AC electricity 218 may be channeled to any device,appliance, and/or application in need of AC electricity. For example,the AC electricity ultimately produced by the smart shingle system maybe wholly channeled to the building's power grid. However, it may alsobe wholly or partially channeled to other power grids and/or even toindividual devices or groups of devices that require AC electric power.Furthermore, in one embodiment, smart shingle system 200 is used topower machines, computers, appliances, and/or devices which may bepowered directly by DC electricity. In such case, inverter 216 may beomitted from smart shingle system 200 altogether.

Although FIG. 2 depicts smart shingle system 200 as comprising a singleinverter 216, one having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate thatmultiple inverters can be used, for example if different voltages orfrequencies of AC electricity are simultaneously required, or for otherreasons. Moreover, although FIG. 2 shows inverter 216 as external tosmart shingles 202, one of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate thateach smart shingle 202 can comprise its own inverter located internally(or located externally but close to each smart shingle 202) so as toreduce transmission losses. This is illustrated by FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system 300 comprising at leastone smart shingle coupled to a controller and an electrical grid inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein. FIG. 3 illustratesnearly the same high-level, exemplary system as FIG. 2. Smart shingles302, located on rooftop 304, are communicatively connected to controller308 via wireless or wired data connection 306. Smart shingles 302collect solar energy 312 from sun 310 in the form of sunlight. Smartshingles 302 then convert solar energy 312 into electricity.

In an embodiment, however, each smart shingle 302 comprises its owninverter 314 to convert the DC electricity produced by the solarcollector within each smart shingle 302 (not shown in the figure) intoAC electricity 316. Just as in FIG. 2, AC electricity 316 may then bewholly or partially channeled to electrical grid 318, other electricalgrids, and/or appliances/devices directly.

Furthermore, note that incorporating inverters 314 directly into smartshingles 302 reduces the length of power lines in smart shingle system300 which carry DC electricity, thereby commensurately reducingtransmission losses.

Moreover, note that FIG. 3 designates each inverter 314 as “micro/nano.”This label simply acknowledges that smart shingles, which are designedto look and function as conventional roofing shingles, would not be ableto comprise full-sized electrical inverters while remaining ofapproximately the same shape and size as conventional shingles. So,integrating inverters into the smart shingles makes most sense whenminiaturized inverters, such as micro-inverters and/or nano-inverters,are used. However, one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat integrating full-sized inverters is nonetheless in accordance withthis disclosure and the spirit of the subject claimed invention.

Now, as disclosed above, the subject claimed invention is compatiblewith smart shingles that are connected to one or more external, centralinverters as well as smart shingles that comprise their own inverters.For the sake of brevity, the remaining figures depict only the latterscenario. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatall of the subsequent disclosure is equally applicable to eitherembodiment of the subject claimed invention.

Now, consider FIG. 4. FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system400 comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller,wherein the smart shingle comprises subcomponents in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein. In other words, FIG. 4 illustratessome specific details of the smart shingle systems shown in FIG. 2 andFIG. 3. As shown, smart shingle 402 is communicatively connected tocontroller 416 by wireless or wired data connection 420, just as inprevious figures. As explained above, wireless or wired data connection420 can comprise any method suitable for electronic communication, suchas Ethernet, USB, Micro USB, Mini USB, Lightning™ port, wireless bus,Bluetooth™, etc.

As shown, controller 416 comprises control program 418, which maycontain at least one smart shingle monitoring protocol to be performedby controller 416. In short, control program 418 comprises the softwareinstructions which controller 416 may execute in order to monitor the atleast one smart shingle 402. Controller 416 and its varioussubcomponents will be explained in detail in connection with FIG. 20-25below. For now, consider smart shingle 402.

As shown, smart shingle 402 comprises electronic processor 404 andcomputer-readable memory 406. In one embodiment, processor 404 iscapable of executing and/or facilitating execution of various componentsand/or portions of components stored in computer-readable memory 406. Inanother aspect, electronic processor 404 and memory 406 are able toexecute and/or facilitate execution of some or all of the various othersubcomponents comprised by smart shingle 402.

In one embodiment, smart shingle 402 further comprises locationcomponent 408. As shown, location component 408 ultimately storesshingle address 424. Shingle address 424 represents the location and/orcoordinates of smart shingle 402 in relation to other smart shingles inthe smart shingle system. As mentioned above, shingle address 424 may beleveraged in some embodiments in order to perform automated, expedient,and accurate system diagnostics. For example, controller 416 can useeach smart shingle 402's shingle address 424 to automatically map (i.e.automap) the smart shingles 402 in relation to each other. This automapinformation would then reveal which smart shingles 402 are neighbors,thus allowing controller 416 to compare and contrast the operatingconditions of neighboring smart shingles 402 in order to detect andidentify damaged and/or obstructed shingles. Note that the form ofshingle address 424 is immaterial. In other words, shingle address 424may be any information which can be used to distinguish theposition/location of smart shingle 402 from the position/location ofother smart shingles in the smart shingle system, including, forexample, a name/number, Cartesian coordinates, geographical coordinates(i.e. latitude, longitude, and/or elevation), etc.

In one aspect, location component 408 may be directly given shingleaddress 424 by a user/manufacturer. For instance, a user can simplyinteract with controller 416 in order to assign smart shingle 402 aparticular shingle address 424. As an example, the user may entershingle address 424 of smart shingle 402 by using a computer screenand/or keyboard/keypad, touch pad, and/or the like that is attached tocontroller 416. Alternatively, the user may remotely enter shingleaddress 424 by using a phone, computer, and/or other device, wherein thephone, computer, or device is in wireless communication with controller416. In these cases, location component 408 acts simply as a memorycomponent. So, in such embodiment, the shingle address 424 may be storeddirectly in computer-readable memory 406, obviating the need forlocation component 408. Alternatively, location component 408 may serveas an interface to allow the user to interact directly with smartshingle 402 rather than through controller 416. In such case, locationcomponent 408 may take the form of any suitable interface device,including, for example, a computer screen and/or keyboard/keypad, atouch-screen, and/or the like that is physically attached/connected tosmart shingle 402. In another embodiment, location component 408 maycomprise a wireless communication device (i.e. Bluetooth™) that wouldallow a user to interact with smart shingle 402 via a remote device(i.e. phone, PDA, tablet, laptop, desktop, etc.). For example, a usermay remotely enter shingle address 424 of smart shingle 402 by usinghis/her phone, computer, and/or other device, wherein the phone,computer, or device is in wireless communication with smart shingle 402via location component 408.

In another embodiment, however, location component 408 can activelydetermine shingle address 424 without manual intervention by a user.Such an embodiment would further improve the automation of the smartshingle system by obviating the need for a user to manually assignshingle address 424. Although manually assigning a single shingleaddress is not necessarily overly burdensome, a building can easilyrequire hundreds of shingles, and manually assigning shingle addressesto each of them can certainly be tedious and time-consuming.

There are various ways by which location component 408 can determineshingle address 424. In one embodiment, location component 408 maycomprise a global positioning system (GPS) sensor/receiver. A GPSsensor/receiver receives the radio waves broadcast by various satellitesorbiting the Earth, wherein the radio waves contain informationspecifying a particular satellite's position and time at which the radiowave was sent. Using this information, the GPS sensor/receiver canestimate the distance between itself and the satellite. The GPS receiveruses the information in the radio waves of multiple satellites in orderto approximate its own position (i.e. latitude, longitude, andelevation) on the planet. Alternatively, if GPS satellites areunavailable, location component 408 may receive signals from nearby celltowers or the like in order to determine its location. Said location isthen stored as shingle address 424.

In another embodiment, the smart shingle system can be outfitted withsignal transmitters positioned at known reference locations (i.e. on theground, at the highest point of the roof, at the corners of the roof,etc.). In such case, each location component 408 can comprise a signalsensor/receiver, very similar to the GPS sensor/receiver as describedabove, wherein the location component 408 can receive radio waves and/orother electromagnetic signals from the transmitters and use said radiowaves and/or signals to determine each smart shingle 402's distance fromeach reference. By utilizing multiple reference transmitters, each smartshingle 402 can approximate its position on the roof and store saidposition as shingle address 424.

In yet another embodiment, location component 408 may comprise a signaltransmitter, receiver, and/or transceiver, such that location component408 can both transmit and receive radio waves and/or otherelectromagnetic signals from other smart shingles in the smart shinglesystem. In other words, the location component 408 of each smart shingle402 would continuously (or less frequently, if desired) emit radio wavesand/or other electromagnetic signals and receive said waves/signals fromother smart shingles. In such case, each smart shingle 402 of a smartshingle system would have a location component 408 in continuous (orless frequently, in an embodiment) communication with the locationcomponents of other smart shingles. By using the same principles oftriangulation which enable GPS to function, each smart shingle 402 wouldbe able to approximate the distance between itself and the other smartshingles. This information could then be used to determine the relativeposition of each smart shingle 402.

In various other embodiments, location component 408 can comprise anyother type of suitable device or devices which would facilitate the useof radiodetermination (i.e. radiolocation, radio frequency navigation,radar, etc.) to allow each smart shingle 402 to determine either itsabsolute position on the rooftop and/or its relative position inrelation to the other smart shingles in the smart shingle system. In anycase, each smart shingle 402 is able to continuously (or lessfrequently, in an embodiment) monitor its absolute and/or relativeposition. Although roofing shingles are designed to be stationary, thecontinuous or semi-continuous monitoring of position by locationcomponent 408 would allow the smart shingle system to immediately notifya user if any smart shingle 402 were dislodged, blown off, or otherwiseremoved from the rooftop, such as by a storm.

As shown in FIG. 4, smart shingle 402 further comprises solar collector410. As mentioned above, solar collector 410 converts solar energy(gathered from sunlight) into DC electricity that can be utilized inuseful applications. Solar collector 410 accomplishes this by way of thephoto-electric effect.

Solar collector 410 can comprise any photovoltaic cell, module, panel,and/or array, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, solar collector410 may be composed of any suitable photovoltaic material, or anycombination of suitable photovoltaic materials, and arranged, created,and/or manufactured by any method known in the art. Suitablephotovoltaic materials include, but are not limited to, monocrystallinesilicon, polycrystalline silicon, thick-film silicon,thin-film/amorphous silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride, copperindium diselenide, copper indium gallium diselenide, perovskite-basedcompounds, etc. As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate,each material has its own advantages and disadvantages (i.e. cost,efficiency, etc.), and so the material chosen may depend onfact-specific circumstances and/or the preferences of the user.

Moreover, each smart shingle 402 in the smart shingle system need nothave identical solar collectors 410. For example, one or more groups ofsmart shingles 402 located on a particular part of the rooftop maycomprise solar collectors 410 composed of a certain photovoltaicmaterial while one or more other groups of smart shingles 402 located ona different portion of the rooftop (possibly with a differentorientation or slope) may comprise solar collectors 410 composed ofdifferent photovoltaic materials. Such an embodiment could allow theuser to take advantage of cost and efficiency differentials to obtain adesired power output at a given price. For instance, a user may decideto use more efficient photovoltaic materials in smart shingles that arelocated on portions of the rooftop that are not ideally situated toreceive the most direct sunlight while electing to use less expensive(and, therefore, less efficient) photovoltaic materials in smartshingles that are located on portions of the rooftop that tend to getlonger and/or more direct sunlight. In such an embodiment, the differentgroups of smart shingles could produce similar amounts of electricitydespite receiving different amounts of sunlight. In this way, the usermay customize the smart shingle system to suite his/her financial andenergy needs.

In order to collect sunlight, solar collector 410 must be integratedwithin smart shingle 402 in such a way so as to allow the sun to shineupon it. To accomplish this, solar collector 410 may be located on ornear the top surface of smart shingle 402 and/or protected by a glass,plastic, and/or other at least partially transparent covering. Onehaving ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other ways ofexposing solar collector 410 to sunlight are possible and in accordancewith this disclosure.

Moreover, since conventional solar shingles already contain solarcollectors, one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatany material, component, method, construction, technique, and/or thelike known in the art may be utilized to integrate solar collector 410into smart shingle 402.

In another embodiment, smart shingle 402 further comprises inverter 414.As explained above, keeping the size of smart shingle 402 comparable tothe size of a conventional roofing shingle makes the integration of afull-sized inverter into smart shingle 402 impractical. So, it is moreappropriate to use a micro/nano-inverter if smart shingle 402 is tocomprise its own inverter. However, one or more central inverters may belocated outside of smart shingle 402 if desired, thereby obviating theneed for an internal inverter. In either case, solar collector 410generates DC electricity and transmits said electricity to the one ormore inverters (inverter 414 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4).Inverter 414 then converts the DC electricity into AC electricity, whichcan then be fed to electrical grid 422, other grids, and/orappliances/devices directly.

In one embodiment, smart shingle 402 comprises battery 412. Battery 412can be used to temporarily store the electrical energy harvested bysolar collector 410 as well as to help power some or all of the variouselectricity-consuming subcomponents of smart shingle 402. For example,if any electronic, power-consuming subcomponents of smart shingle 402are not powered down during nighttime hours, they may be wholly orpartially powered by battery 412. As another example, battery 412 may beused to wholly or partially power any of the electronic subcomponents ofsmart shingle 402 during daylight hours on an exceedingly cloudy day.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the chemicalcomposition of battery 412 is immaterial; any battery of appropriatesize can be integrated within smart shingle 402 by any method known inthe art. Furthermore, although making battery 412 non-rechargeable isnot the most sensible embodiment, it is still in accordance with thisdisclosure and the spirit of the subject claimed invention.

In another embodiment, battery 412 can comprise a capacitor,super-capacitor, and/or any other device capable of storing anddischarging electrical energy.

In another embodiment, battery 412 can be located outside smart shingle402 and can even be one of one or more central batteries for the entiresmart shingle system. For example, instead of integrating a battery intoeach smart shingle 402, one or more central batteries may be integratedinto the smart shingle system such that the one or more batteriesreceive electricity from all or a subset of the smart shingles 402 inthe smart shingle system. Such central batteries could then be used topower various appliances, devices, and/or applications within thebuilding.

Now, consider FIG. 5. FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system500 comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein. As shown, FIG. 5illustrates nearly the same smart shingle system as FIG. 4. Smartshingle 402 is communicatively linked to controller 416 via wireless orwired data connection 420. Smart shingle 402 comprises electronicprocessor 404, computer-readable memory 406, location component 408which comprises shingle address 424 (not shown in FIG. 5), solarcollector 410, battery 412, and inverter 414. Just as in FIG. 4,inverter 414 receives DC electricity from solar collector 410 and feedsAC electricity to electrical grid 422.

Notice, however, that, in an embodiment, smart shingle 402 can compriseconverter 502, as shown in FIG. 5. Converter 502 is the functionalinverse of inverter 414. That is, while inverter 414 converts DCelectricity to AC electricity, converter 502 converts AC electricity toDC electricity. In this way, AC electricity from electrical grid 422 canbe received by converter 502, converted into DC electricity, and thenused to charge battery 412 and/or to power some or all of theelectronic, power-consuming subcomponents of smart shingle 402. As oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, AC electricity fromelectrical grid 422 may be channeled directly into any power-consumingsubcomponent of smart shingle 402 if such subcomponent can accept ACelectricity, thereby possibly obviating the need for converter 502. Ineither case, controller 416, or possibly smart shingle 402 itself, cancontrol when converter 502 channels electricity into smart shingle 402.

Just as with inverters, converter 502 may be located inside or outsidesmart shingle 402. In the case of an external converter, one or morecentral converters may be utilized to accept AC electricity fromelectrical grid 422 and send DC electricity to one or more smartshingles 402 in the smart shingle system. However, since transmissionloses are greater for DC electricity than for AC electricity, theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 may be a more efficient embodiment.

Moreover, just like inverter 414, converter 502 has the label“micro/nano” in order to acknowledge that integrating a full-sizedelectrical converter into smart shingle 402 would likely conflict withthe goal of keeping the size of smart shingle 402 comparable to that ofa conventional roofing shingle. So, it is more sensible to use aminiaturized converter, such as a micro-converter and/or nano-converter,if converter 502 is to be integrated within smart shingle 402.Nevertheless, integrating a full-sized converter is in accordance withthis disclosure and the spirit of the subject claimed invention.

Now, consider FIG. 6. FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system600 comprising at least one smart shingle coupled to a controller inaccordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 6 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle system asFIG. 5. Notice, however, that, in an embodiment, smart shingle 402 cancomprise thermo-electric component 602. As shown in FIG. 6,thermo-electric component 602 absorbs thermal energy and generates DCelectricity, which can then be channeled to inverter 414 and/or battery412. Thermo-electric component 602 converts heat fluxes (i.e.temperature differentials) into electricity via the thermo-electriceffect. For example, thermo-electric component 602 may absorb radiationfrom the sun and use that excess heat to generate additionalelectricity. Such capability could be highly effective and beneficialduring summer months since the sun generally shines longer and morebrightly in the summer. In another example, thermo-electric component602 can absorb heat directly from the building and use that excess heatto generate additional electricity. Taking advantage of temperaturedifferences within the building itself could be quite effective andbeneficial during winter months since buildings and homes are generallyheated in the winter and tend to experience much heat loss through theirroofs.

To accomplish this, thermo-electric component 602 may comprise anysuitably-sized thermo-electric generator and/or Seebeck generator knownin the art that is composed of any suitable thermo-electric materialsknown in the art. For example, thermo-electric component 602 may becomposed of: bismuth telluride; lead telluride; silicon germanium; anyalloys, semiconductors, complex crystals, and/or multiphasenanocomposites whose thermo-electric properties have been augmentedusing nanotechnology; etc.

Thermo-electric component 602 essentially diversifies the sources ofenergy which smart shingle 402 may tap to generate electricity. In thisway, thermo-electric component 602 enables smart shingle 402 to createmore electric power than it otherwise would. Moreover, thermo-electriccomponent 602 also allows smart shingle 402 to continue generatingelectricity even if one source of energy is temporarily unavailable. Forexample, smart shingle 402 can continue generating electricity on a darkwinter night if there is a sufficient temperature differential in thebuilding (i.e. the interior of the building is heated in the winterwhile the exterior of the building is exposed to outdoor wintertemperatures). In another example, smart shingle 402 can continuegenerating electricity via thermo-electric component 602 during daylighthours in the winter even if smart shingle 402 is covered by snow and/orice (i.e. solar collector 410 is obstructed). As yet another example,smart shingle 402 can continue generating electricity on a hot summerday via thermo-electric component 602 even if it is exceedingly cloudyor solar collector 410 is otherwise obstructed. As can be appreciated,incorporating thermo-electric component 602 potentially greatly improvessmart shingle 402's versatility and effectiveness.

Now, as mentioned above, smart shingle 402 can be outfitted with avariety of one or more sensors to enable it to automatically detect andinteract with its surroundings. The next several figures illustrate suchpotential embodiments. One skilled in the art will appreciate, however,that not all illustrated sensors must be incorporated into any oneembodiment and that various other sensors known in the art but not shownin the figures may be incorporated into a smart shingle system inaccordance with this disclosure and the spirit of the subject claimedinvention. Furthermore, one having ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the subject claimed invention encompasses anycombination and/or permutation of the subcomponents shown in the nextseveral figures, rather than merely the embodiments illustrated.

Consider FIG. 7. FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system 700comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with various aspectsdisclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 7 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 6. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can comprise powersensor component 702. Power sensor component 702 can detect the level ofreal-time, average, and/or historical electric power generation fromsolar collector 410 and/or thermo-electric component 602 (if present).This embodiment would account for all of the electricity produced bysmart shingle 402. Alternatively, or possibly concurrently, power sensorcomponent 702 can monitor the electric power generated by inverter 414,which represents the total power generated by smart shingle 402 that issent to the electrical grid and/or appliances. Note, however, that thelatter embodiment would not account for any electricity generated bysmart shingle 402 that is used to charge battery 412 or to directlypower some or all of the electricity-consuming subcomponents of smartshingle 402. Moreover, power sensor component 702 can also be used tomonitor the amount of electricity consumed by smart shingle 402 viaconverter 502. In this way, power sensor component 702 can determine thenet power generation and/or consumption of smart shingle 402.

By noting the instantaneous, average, and/or historical poweroutput/consumption of smart shingle 402, the smart shingle system canmonitor its own performance. This information can then be used bycontroller 416 (or possibly by smart shingle 402 itself) to help performsystem diagnostics. For example, controller 416, which monitors the atleast one smart shingle 402, can notify the user when one or more smartshingles 402 experiences a significant and/or unexpected increase and/ordecrease in power generation and/or consumption. For instance, powergeneration is expected to vary approximately as a sinusoid throughoutthe day (i.e. lower power generation in the morning when the sun isrising, higher power generation around noon when the sun is high, andlower power generation again in the evening when the sun is setting,etc.). However, controller 416 may notify the user when the powergeneration of smart shingle 402 is significantly higher and/or lowerthan it should be, such as if the power generation around noon werelower than in the morning and/or evening, for example. In anotherexample, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) canleverage both the resulting net power generation determined by powersensor component 702 and shingle address 424 (not shown in FIG. 6) toperform system diagnostics. For example, controller 416 can notify auser when power sensor component 702 of a certain smart shingle 402indicates a much lower overall power output than those of neighboringsmart shingles. Such a scenario may suggest that smart shingle 402 isdamaged and/or obstructed since smart shingle 402 is presumably expectedto have a similar power output as compared to neighboring shingles.Note, however, that this may not hold if neighboring smart shinglespossess different solar collectors with different efficiency ratings. Insuch case, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) cancompensate for the difference by notifying the user when there is achange in the difference between power output rates of neighboring smartshingles, as opposed to notifying the user merely that unequal poweroutputs are detected.

In order to measure power output/consumption, power sensor component 702can comprise one or more electric voltage and/or electric currentsensors as known in the art. Such devices can measure theroot-mean-square voltage differences and/or root-mean-square currentsbetween two or more electrical connections. By incorporating them intosmart shingle 402, the voltages and currents produced/consumed by solarcollector 410, thermo-electric component 602, inverter 414, and/orconverter 502 can be determined and then stored either in power sensorcomponent 702 or computer-readable memory 406. The electrical powergenerated and/or consumed by smart shingle 402 can then be calculatedaccording to the known formula: electrical power equals currentmultiplied by voltage.

Now, consider FIG. 8. FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system800 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 8 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 7. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can compriseefficiency sensor component 802. Efficiency sensor component 802 candetermine how efficiently smart shingle 402 (or any subcomponentthereof, as explained above in connection with power sensor component702) converts solar and/or thermal energy into electricity.

By noting the instantaneous, average, and/or historical efficiency ofsmart shingle 402, the smart shingle system can more accurately andcompletely monitor its performance. As explained above, this informationcan be used by controller 416 (or possibly by smart shingle 402 itself)to help perform system diagnostics. For example, controller 416, whichmonitors the at least one smart shingle 402, can notify the user whenone or more smart shingles 402 experiences a significant and/orunexpected increase and/or decrease in energy conversion efficiency. Forinstance, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) cannotify a user if efficiency sensor component 802 indicates that theefficiency of smart shingle 402 is significantly higher and/or lowerthan those of its neighboring smart shingles. A notably lower efficiencylevel may suggest that smart shingle 402 is in some way defective. Note,however, that this may not hold if neighboring smart shingles possessdifferent solar collectors with different efficiency ratings. In suchcase, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) cancompensate for the difference in efficiency by notifying the user ifthere is any change in the difference between efficiencies ofneighboring smart shingles, as opposed to notifying the user merely thatunequal efficiencies are detected. Moreover, note that the efficiency ofa smart shingle should not vary as much throughout a day as would poweroutput. After all, the power produced by smart shingle 402 should remainproportional to the solar energy collected, no matter how much solarenergy that is.

In order to measure efficiency, efficiency sensor component 802 cancomprise a device similar to power sensor component 702 (if power sensorcomponent 702 is absent) and any type of suitably-sized solar radiationsensor known in the art, such as an actinometer, pyranometer,pyrheliometer, net radiometer, etc. Furthermore, efficiency sensorcomponent 802 can also comprise any device and/or sensor known in theart that can measure the amount of heat energy collected bythermo-electric component 602. The device that is similar to powersensor component 702 will determine the power output of smart shingle402. If power sensor component 702 is not absent, efficiency sensorcomponent 802 can simply leverage the power output determined by powersensor component 702. The solar radiation sensor, on the other hand,will determine the solar radiation flux density of any incidentsunlight. Solar radiation power can then be obtained by multiplying thesolar radiation flux density by the exposed surface area of solarcollector 410. Alternatively, one or more solar radiation sensors can beintegrated into the smart shingle system outside of smart shingle 402.In such an embodiment, the solar radiation flux density that is measuredby the one or more external solar radiation sensors can be leveraged byefficiency sensor component 802. In any case, by determining both theelectrical power output of smart shingle 402 as well as the amount ofenergy received by smart shingle 402 in the form of solar radiationand/or heat, efficiency can be calculated according to the knownformula: efficiency equals power output divided by power input (i.e.solar radiation and heat received).

Now, consider FIG. 9. FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system900 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 9 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 8. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can comprisetemperature sensor component 902. Temperature sensor component 902 candetermine the temperature of the exposed surface of smart shingle 402.In another embodiment, temperature sensor component 902 can alsodetermine the ambient, outdoor temperature. Furthermore, temperaturesensor component 902 can possibly determine the average and/orhistorical temperatures of the smart shingle surface and/or ambientsurroundings as well as the corresponding real-time temperatures.

By noting the instantaneous, average, and/or historical temperatures ofthe surface of smart shingle 402 as well as possibly its ambientsurroundings, the smart shingle system can more accurately andcompletely monitor its performance. For example, smart shingle 402 canleverage the information measured by temperature sensor component 902 toapproximate the weather to which smart shingle 402 is exposed. Forinstance, if temperature sensor component 902 measures a temperaturebelow 32° F. (0° C.), controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402itself) can notify the user that it is possibly snowing outside. In thiscase, the user would be put on notice that he/she may have to clear awaysnow and/or ice build-up from the smart shingle system. As anotherexample, smart shingle 402 may be able to leverage the informationmeasured by temperature sensor component 902 to estimate the time ofday. For instance, since the ambient temperature outside generallyfollows a sinusoidal path (i.e. lower in the morning when the sun isrising, higher in the afternoon when the sun is high, lower again in theevening when the sun is setting, and lowest at night when the sun is notout), temperature sensor component 902 may be able to indicate theapproximate time of day. This information can then be used inconjunction with power sensor component 702 to conduct systemdiagnostics. In this case, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402itself) could compare the measured power output with the estimated timeof day in order to determine if smart shingle 402 is producing anappropriate amount of electricity given the outdoor temperature andlikely sunlight. Although efficiency sensor component 802 serves asimilar purpose (i.e. validating that smart shingle 402 is producing anappropriate amount of power), this particular embodiment could be usedto verify the measurements of efficiency sensor component 802, therebyproviding system redundancy and fail-safety. Temperature sensorcomponent 902 may also be able to validate the efficiency measurementsconcerning thermo-electric component 602.

In order to measure the temperatures of the surface of smart shingle 402and/or the ambient air, temperature sensor component 902 can compriseone or more suitably-sized thermocouples, thermometers, infraredthermometers, and/or any other device known in the art that can measurethe temperature of an object and/or ambient air. The measuredtemperatures can then be stored directly in temperature sensor component902 and/or in computer-readable memory 406. In another embodiment, oneor more central temperature sensors can be integrated into the smartshingle system outside of smart shingle 402 (i.e. one or morethermometers may be located somewhere on the rooftop but outside anysmart shingle). In such case, temperature sensor component 902 and/orcomputer-readable memory 406 can receive and/or store said information.

Now, consider FIG. 10. FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1000 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 10 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 9. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can comprisepressure sensor component 1002. Pressure sensor component 1002 candetermine the amount of pressure (gauge and/or absolute pressure) beingapplied to the top and/or other surfaces of smart shingle 402.Alternatively, and possibly concurrently, pressure sensor component 1002can determine the weight (i.e. amount of force) being applied to the topor other surfaces of smart shingle 402 either by measuring forcedirectly or by multiplying measured pressure by the area of the affectedsurface.

By noting the instantaneous, average, and/or historical pressures/forcesapplied to various surfaces of smart shingle 402, the smart shinglesystem can more accurately and completely monitor its performance. Forexample, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) canleverage the information measured by pressure sensor component 1002 inorder to determine whether something is resting on top of smart shingle402. For instance, the very fact that pressure sensor component 1002 isactivated suggests that something is resting on top of (or otherwisepressing against a surface of) smart shingle 402, and the amount ofpressure/weight measured can indicate what that object might be. Forexample, a light pressure/weight reading may indicate something small,such as a squirrel, bird, bird droppings, leaves, etc., while a heavypressure/weight reading may indicate a tree branch, snow/ice, etc. Insuch case, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) cannotify the user that something is likely resting on top of, and therebyobstructing, smart shingle 402. In another example, a constantpressure/weight reading may indicate that the pressure/weight is causedby a stationary, tangible object (which, again, may need to be cleared)whereas a transient and/or constantly varying pressure/weight readingmay indicate pressure induced by a strong wind.

In order to measure these pressures and/or forces, pressure sensorcomponent 1002 can comprise any suitably-sized scale, strain gauge,piezoelectric sensor, and/or any other device known in the art that canmeasure pressure and/or force. The measured pressures/weights can thenbe stored directly in pressure sensor component 1002 and/or incomputer-readable memory 406.

Now, consider FIG. 11. FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1100 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 11 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 10. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can compriselight sensor component 1102. Light sensor component 1102 can determinethe real-time, average, and/or historic amounts of light incident on theexposed photovoltaic surface of smart shingle 402. In anotherembodiment, light sensor component 1102 may function as a proximitysensor which can use light and/or other electromagnetic radiation todetermine the distance between an object and a surface of smart shingle402.

By noting the instantaneous, average, and/or historical amounts of lightincident on smart shingle 402 and/or the distance between smart shingle402 and a given object, the smart shingle system can more accurately andcompletely monitor its performance. For example, controller 416 (orpossibly smart shingle 402 itself) can leverage the information measuredby light sensor component 1102 in order to determine whether and howbrightly the sun is shining. This information can then be used inconjunction with data gathered by various other sensing components tohelp perform system diagnostics. For instance, both pressure sensorcomponent 1002 and light sensor component 1102 may be activated, therebyindicating that something is applying pressure to the top or othersurface of smart shingle 402 and that smart shingle 402 is notcollecting as much light as it otherwise could. In such case, controller416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) can notify the user that atangible object is likely resting on top of, and thereby obstructing,smart shingle 402. In another example, light sensor component 1102 maybe activated while pressure sensor component 1002 is not, therebyindicating that something is blocking light that would otherwise beincident on smart shingle 402 but that that object is not physicallycontacting smart shingle 402. In such case, controller 416 (or possiblysmart shingle 402 itself) can notify the user that shade, such as froman overhead branch, is blocking smart shingle 402. Furthermore, if lightsensor component 1102 notes that light is being blocked and pressuresensor component 1002 notes that nothing is physically contacting smartshingle 402, light sensor component 1102 may determine the distancebetween smart shingle 402 and that which is blocking its light.

In order to measure said light, light sensor component 1102 can compriseany suitably-sized photodetector, photodiode, photoresistor, and/or anyother device known in the art that can be used to sense the presence,absence, and/or magnitude of light. Moreover, in order to measureproximity, light sensor component 1102 can comprise any suitably-sizedproximity sensor and/or other device which is capable of measuringdistance to an obstruction by using electromagnetic radiation. Themeasured light values can then be stored directly in light sensorcomponent 1102 and/or in computer-readable memory 406. Alternatively,one or more light sensors may be integrated into the smart shinglesystem outside of smart shingle 402 (i.e. light sensors placed invarious positions on the rooftop/ground). In such case, light sensorcomponent 1102 and/or memory 406 can leverage/receive the measured lightvalues.

Now, consider FIG. 12. FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1200 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 12 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 11. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can comprisemoisture sensor component 1202. Moisture sensor component 1202 candetect the presence of moisture and/or humidity within smart shingle402. In another embodiment, moisture sensor component 1202 can detectthe presence of moisture and/or humidity on the outer surfaces of smartshingle 402.

By noting the instantaneous, average, and/or historical amounts ofmoisture within and/or on smart shingle 402, the smart shingle systemcan more accurately and completely monitor its performance. For example,the smart shingle system can leverage the information measured bymoisture sensor component 1202 in order to determine whether theinternal electronics of smart shingle 402 are potentially compromised.For instance, moisture sensor component 1202 may indicate that moistureis detected within one or more electronics compartments of smart shingle402. In such case, controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself)can notify the user that smart shingle 402 has experienced a leak andtherefore requires maintenance and/or repair. As another example, thesmart shingle system can leverage the information measured by moisturesensor component 1202 in order to help approximate the weather. Forinstance, moisture sensor component 1202 may indicate that moisture isdetected on the outer surfaces of smart shingle 402. In such case, thesmart shingle system can notify the user that it is likely raining. Inother embodiments, the information from moisture sensor component 1202can be used in conjunction with data from various other sensors. Forexample, moisture sensor component 1202 may indicate that water/moistureis present on the outer surfaces of smart shingle 402 and temperaturesensor component 902 can indicate that the temperature of the surface ofsmart shingle 402 is equal to or less than 32° F. (0° C.). In such case,controller 416 (or possibly smart shingle 402 itself) can notify theuser that there is a possibility of ice forming on smart shingle 402.

In order to measure such moisture/humidity, moisture sensor component1202 can comprise any humistor, hygrometer, dew warning sensor, soilmoisture sensor, and/or any other device known in the art that candetect the presence and/or absence of moisture, humidity, and/or water.Furthermore, devices which can detect other types of liquids can also beincorporated. The information measured by moisture sensor component 1202is then stored directly in moisture sensor component 1202 and/orcomputer-readable memory 406.

Now, consider FIG. 13. FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1300 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 13 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 12. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can comprisecorrosion/continuity sensor component 1302. Corrosion/continuity sensorcomponent 1302 can determine whether the electrical connections withinsmart shingle 402 (as well as the electrical connections between smartshingle 402 and controller 416) are suboptimal. Corrosion/continuitysensor component 1302 does this by testing the continuity of anelectrical connection (i.e. determining whether the circuit is open orclosed) as well as testing the resistance of an electrical connectionand comparing it with the connection's known, initial resistance orother reference value.

By noting the continuity and/or the instantaneous, average, and/orhistorical amounts of corrosion regarding the electrical connectionswithin smart shingle 402 and between smart shingle 402 and controller416, the smart shingle system can more accurately and completely monitorits performance. For example, the smart shingle system can leverage theinformation gathered by corrosion/continuity sensor component 1302 inorder to determine whether a given electrical connection within smartshingle 402 is severed and/or no longer able to conduct the requiredvoltage and/or current. In such case, controller 416 (or possibly smartshingle 402 itself) can notify the user that a given electricalconnection inside smart shingle 402 is either cut or no longer able toperform adequately, thus requiring repair. For instance,corrosion/continuity sensor component 1302 may indicate that theelectrical wire connecting location component 408 to electronicprocessor 404 has been severed. In such case, the smart shingle systemcould notify the user of the exact connection that is severed and thatmaintenance is required. In another instance, corrosion/continuitysensor component 1302 may indicate that the electrical wire connectingpressure sensor component 1002 to computer-readable memory 406 has beenoverly corroded. In such case, the smart shingle system could notify theuser of the exact electrical connection that is compromised and thatmaintenance is recommended.

In order to measure continuity, corrosion/continuity sensor component1302 can comprise any device known in the art that is capable ofdetermining whether an electrical connection can be made between twogiven points, such as a standard continuity tester found in amultimeter. In order to measure corrosion, corrosion/continuity sensorcomponent 1302 can comprise any voltage sensors, current sensors,resistance sensors, and/or any other devices known in the art that candetermine the electrical resistance between two given points. Althoughcontinuity can be measured at any time, measuring corrosion requiresthat an initial and/or reference resistance be known so that anysubsequent resistance measurement pertaining to a given electricalconnection can be compared to the reference to determine how much theresistance has changed. Once the difference in resistance values exceedsa certain threshold (i.e. indicating excessive corrosion), the smartshingle system can notify the user of the problem and that repair isrequired. Once the corrosion/continuity values are measured, they can bestored in corrosion/continuity sensor component 1302 and/orcomputer-readable memory 406.

Now, consider FIG. 14. FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1400 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 14 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 13. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can comprisemaintenance component 1402. Maintenance component 1402 can keep track ofthe various maintenance problems and/or interventions (i.e. repairs,cleanings, replacements, etc.) concerning smart shingle 402.

By keeping a record of the various maintenance problems and/orinterventions concerning smart shingle 402, the smart shingle system canmore accurately and more completely monitor its performance. Forexample, the smart shingle system may be able to leverage theinformation contained in maintenance component 1402 in order todetermine whether smart shingle 402 is due for a cleaning, a repair, amaintenance check, etc. For instance, maintenance component 1402 mayindicate that smart shingle 402 or any of its subcomponents is due for acertain periodic check-up. In such case, controller 416 (or possiblysmart shingle 402 itself) can notify the user that a periodicmaintenance check-up is recommended and that smart shingle 402 is duefor said check-up. In another instance, maintenance component 1402 canserve as a record of all prior maintenance work that was performed onsmart shingle 402, thereby ensuring that future maintenance workers arefully informed of smart shingle 402's maintenance history.

In order to record smart shingle 402's maintenance information,maintenance component 1402 can simply be manually given said informationby the user and/or the user's agent. Alternatively, maintenancecomponent 1402 can automatically update itself after maintenance isperformed. In such cases, maintenance component 1402 functions as acomputer-readable memory in which data can be stored and from which datacan be retrieved. Any such memory known in the art can be used toconstruct maintenance component 1402. Alternatively, the equivalent ofmaintenance component 1402 can be integrated into controller 416,wherein this equivalent component keeps track of the maintenance recordsof all smart shingles 402 connected to controller 416.

Now, consider FIG. 15. FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1500 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 15 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 14. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can compriseartificial intelligence component 1502. Artificial intelligencecomponent 1502 can employ inferential logic and/or pattern recognitionto leverage any data gathered by the various sensory components of smartshingle 402 in order to automatically diagnose problems with smartshingle 402 and/or to generate recommended solutions for said problems.For example, artificial intelligence component 1502 can leverageinformation collected by pressure sensor component 1002 and light sensorcomponent 1102 in order to determine whether an obstruction is an objectresting on the surface of smart shingle 402 or if the obstruction issimply shade from an overhanging object. Artificial intelligencecomponent 1502 can then generate a solution to the identified problem,such as recommending that the user clear the object if it is contactingsmart shingle 402 or that the user otherwise ensure that smart shingle402 has an unobstructed view of the sky (i.e. by trimming overhangingtree branches, etc.). The smart shingle system can then notify the useraccordingly. As another example, artificial intelligence component 1502can leverage information from pressure sensor component 1002,temperature sensor component 902, and moisture sensor component 1202 inorder to detect that something relatively heavy, cold, and wet issetting on top of smart shingle 402. In such case, artificialintelligence component 1502 can infer that snow and/or ice hasaccumulated on smart shingle 402. The smart shingle system can thennotify the user of the problem and recommend that the snow/ice becleared. Alternatively, or possibly concurrently, controller 416 can beintegrated with an artificial intelligence component, as described belowin connection with FIG. 24. In either embodiment, the followingdescription of artificial intelligence applies.

The embodiments of the present invention herein can employ artificialintelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more features of thepresent invention. The components can employ various AI-based schemesfor carrying out various embodiments/examples disclosed herein. In orderto provide for or aid in the numerous determinations (e.g., determine,ascertain, infer, calculate, predict, prognose, estimate, derive,forecast, detect, compute) of the present invention, components of thepresent invention can examine the entirety or a subset of the data towhich it is granted access and can provide for reasoning about ordetermine states of the system, environment, etc. from a set ofobservations as captured via events and/or data. Determinations can beemployed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate aprobability distribution over states, for example. The determinationscan be probabilistic; that is, the computation of a probabilitydistribution over states of interest based on a consideration of dataand events. Determinations can also refer to techniques employed forcomposing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data.

Such determinations can result in the construction of new events oractions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whetheror not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, andwhether the events and data come from one or several event and datasources. Components disclosed herein can employ various classification(explicitly trained (i.e. via training data) as well as implicitlytrained (i.e. via observing behavior, preferences, historicalinformation, receiving extrinsic information, etc.)) schemes and/orsystems (i.e. support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems,Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines, etc.) inconnection with performing automatic and/or determined action inconnection with the claimed subject matter. Thus, classification schemesand/or systems can be used to automatically learn and perform a numberof functions, actions, and/or determinations.

A classifier can map an input attribute vector, z=(z1, z2, z3, z4, zn),to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, as byf(z)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ a probabilisticand/or statistical-based analysis (i.e. factoring into the analysisutilities and costs) to determinate an action to be automaticallyperformed. A support vector machine (SVM) can be an example of aclassifier that can be employed. The SVM operates by finding ahyper-surface in the space of possible inputs, where the hyper-surfaceattempts to split the triggering criteria from the non-triggeringevents. Intuitively, this makes the classification correct for testingdata that is near, but not identical to training data. Other directedand undirected model classification approaches include, i.e. naïveBayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logicmodels, and/or probabilistic classification models providing differentpatterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used hereinalso is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to developmodels of priority.

Now, consider FIG. 16. FIG. 16 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1600 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 16 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 15. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can compriseinter-shingle communication component 1602. Inter-shingle communicationcomponent 1602 can enable smart shingle 402 to communicate and/orotherwise interact with other smart shingles in the smart shinglesystem.

By facilitating inter-shingle communication, the smart shingle systemcan more accurately and more completely monitor its performance. Forexample, the smart shingle system can use inter-shingle communicationcomponent 1602 in order to leverage the data measured by the varioussensory components of other smart shingles. In this way, smart shingle402 has access to its own measured data as well as the measured data ofother smart shingles in the smart shingle system. This could allowartificial intelligence component 1502 to make more informeddeterminations and recommendations. For instance, smart shingle 402 canretrieve the shingle address of any and/or all other smart shingles inthe smart shingle system, thus allowing smart shingle 402 to know itslocation on the rooftop relative to other smart shingles. Smart shingle402 then knows which smart shingles are its neighbors and can thencompare its sensory data with its neighbors' sensory data in order toperform system diagnostics. As an example, if smart shingle 402 sensesreduced incident light and power output, it can check the measured lightand power outputs of its neighboring shingles in order to determinewhether the obstruction is large or small.

In order to facilitate such communication, inter-shingle communicationcomponent 1602 can comprise any means of electronic communication,either wired or wireless, that would allow smart shingle 402 tocommunicate and share data with other smart shingles in the system. Inone embodiment, inter-shingle communication component 1602 can comprisethe same devices/methods as wireless or wired data connection 420.

Now, consider FIG. 17. FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1700 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 17 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 16. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can compriseheating component 1702. Heating component 1702 can use electric power togenerate heat (either automatically or at the user's instruction) so asto melt snow and/or ice that has accumulated on smart shingle 402. Thiselectric power can be received either from solar collector 410, battery412 (if present), converter 502 (if present), and/or other electricalgrid 422.

By melting away snow and/or ice accumulation, the smart shingle systemis able to help keep itself clear of debris in the winter and can alsohelp prevent damage to the building that is caused by ice dams and/orheavy snow loads. Furthermore, automated snow/ice removal benefits theuser by obviating the need for manual snow/ice removal. In such case,the user saves his/her time and effort and need not exposehimself/herself to the dangers of climbing an icy roof in the winter.

In order to melt away snow and/or ice, heating component 1702 cancomprise any suitably-sized heating cable, heating panel, and/or anyother roof deicing device known in the art. Alternatively, a centralizedheating system (i.e. a mesh of heating cables spanning the entire smartshingle system, or the like) can be integrated into the smart shinglesystem outside of smart shingle 402 and can be controlled by controller416. In either case, the smart shingle system is at least able to helpkeep snow and/or ice build-up at bay during the winter. As mentionedabove, heating component 1702 can be powered by solar collector 410,battery 412 (if present), converter 502 (if present), and/or electricalgrid 422. Alternatively, heating component 1702 may comprise its ownpower source.

Now, consider FIG. 18. FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary smart shingle system1800 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 18 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 17. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can compriseactuator component 1802. Actuator component 1802 can help keep smartshingle 402 clear of debris (either automatically or at the user'sinstruction), such as leaves, tree branches, etc. Actuator component1802 can accomplish this through the use of one or more mechanical armspowered by electric (or other) motors/actuators and/or through the useof air and/or water pumps that can blow/force away debris. For example,each smart shingle 402 can comprise its own set of suitably-sizedmechanical wipers and/or air/water pumps to help keep the exposedsurface of solar collector 410 clear of debris. In another embodiment, acentralized actuator component (i.e. wipers, other mechanical devices,and/or air/water pumps that can collectively span the entire smartshingle system, and the like) can be integrated into the smart shinglesystem outside of smart shingle 402. For example, the rooftop may beoutfitted with one or more large wipers and/or air/water pumps thatcollectively help to keep the entire smart shingle system clear ofdebris. In such case, the centralized actuator component could becontrolled by controller 416.

Alternatively, or possibly concurrently, actuator component 1802 cancomprise one or more servo motors (or other rotational and/or linearactuators) that enable smart shingle 402 to change the angle ofincidence between itself and any sunlight it is receiving. In this way,each smart shingle 402 could determine its own optimal orientation onthe rooftop using light sensor component 1102 and then assume thatorientation via actuator component 1802. Note, however, that thisparticular embodiment may conflict with the goal of protecting thebuilding from inclement weather. After all, movable shingles may provideless water and/or weather protection to the building.

As with heating component 1702, actuator component 1802 can receiveelectric power from solar collector 410, battery 412 (if present),converter 502 (if present), electrical grid 422, and/or its own powersource.

Finally, consider FIG. 19. FIG. 19 depicts an exemplary smart shinglesystem 1900 comprising at least one smart shingle in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 19 illustrates nearly the same smart shingle 402 as doesFIG. 18. In one embodiment, however, smart shingle 402 can comprise LED(light-emitting diode) component 1902. LED component 1902 can allowsmart shingle 402 (or possibly controller 416) to display one or morevisual lights, signals, and/or messages on the surfaces of smart shingle402. These visual signals may serve any purpose, such as opticalwarnings to the user that a certain sensor has been activated. Forexample, the lights displayed by smart shingle 402 may vary by color,wherein each color represents the activation of a differentsubcomponent. Alternatively, or possibly concurrently, the lights shownmay spell out words, messages, pictures, advertisements, etc.

In order to produce such lights, LED component 1902 can comprise anysuitably-sized group of light-emitting diodes and/or any other deviceknown in the art that can produce such light signals. As with actuatorcomponent 1802, LED component 1902 can receive electric power from solarcollector 410, battery 412 (if present), converter 502 (if present),electrical grid 422, and/or its own power source.

The preceding several paragraphs and figures pertain to smart shingle402. As explained above, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the subject claimed invention may be practiced usingnearly any combination/permutation of the aforementioned components.With that in mind, attention is invited to controller 416.

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary smart shingle controller comprising varioussubcomponents in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein. Asshown, controller 416 comprises electronic processor 2008 andcomputer-readable memory 2010, which are similar to processor 404 andmemory 406 explained above. Controller 416 also comprises controlprogram 418, which contains one or more protocols to be executed andperformed by controller 416. In one embodiment, control program 418 cancomprise automap protocol 2002, which can instruct controller 416 toleverage the shingle address 424 of each smart shingle 402 in the smartshingle system in order to automatically determine which smart shinglesare neighbors. As explained thoroughly above, such automap informationcan be used to help perform system diagnostics. In another embodiment,control program 418 can comprise shingle monitoring protocol 2004, whichcan instruct controller 416 to receive (periodically, continuously,and/or otherwise) the data collected by each smart shingle 402 via eachsmart shingle 402's various sensory components. In yet anotherembodiment, control program 418 can comprise shingle diagnosticsprotocol 2006, which can instruct controller 416 to analyze the datacollected according to shingle monitoring protocol 2004 in order todiagnose likely problems pertaining to the smart shingle system as wellas to determine recommended solutions. This could be executed by anartificial intelligence component.

As shown, controller 416 can also comprise user input component 2012 inorder to allow the user to interact with the smart shingle system. Asexplained above, user input component 2012 may comprise any suitableinterface method/device, such as one or more computer screens with oneor more keyboards/keypads, one or more touchscreens, etc. Furthermore,user interface component 2012 may comprise a wireless communicationdevice which could allow a user to remotely interface with controller416 via a phone, laptop, desktop computer, and/or other device.

Finally, controller 416 may comprise notification component 2014, whichcan allow controller 416 to notify a user of any data collected by thesmart shingles, any problems diagnosed by the controller, and/or anyrecommended solutions. As explained above, notification component 2014can comprise any method/device known in the art which can facilitatevisual, audible, and/or vibratory messages/signals/notificationscommunicated via a hardwired connection and/or wirelessly.

Now, consider FIG. 21. FIG. 21 depicts an exemplary smart shinglecontroller comprising a power regulation component in accordance withvarious aspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 21 illustrates nearly the same controller 416 as doesFIG. 20. In one embodiment, however, controller 416 can comprise powerregulation component 2102. Power regulation component 2102 allowscontroller 416 to control the amount of electricity flowing to and/orfrom each smart shingle 402. In this way, controller 416 can influencewhich subcomponents of each smart shingle 402 are activated. Forexample, if smart shingle 402 determines that snow and/or ice hasaccumulated on its surface, it can inform controller 416, which can thenutilize power regulation component 2102 to supply electricity to heatingcomponent 1702. Similarly, if smart shingle 402 determines that leaveshave accumulated on its surface, it can inform controller 416, which canthen utilize power regulation component 2102 to supply electricity toactuator component 1802. In another embodiment, power regulationcomponent 2102 can be used to supply electricity to smart shingle 402 soas to charge battery 412, such as when battery 412 is nearly depletedand the sun is not shining.

In order to accomplish such power regulation, power regulation component2102 can comprise any set of transistors, electronic switches, and/orother devices known in the art that can increase/decrease the flow ofelectricity in a given electrical connection.

Now, consider FIG. 22. FIG. 22 depicts an exemplary smart shinglecontroller in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 22 depicts nearly the same controller 416 as does FIG.21. In one embodiment, however, controller 416 can comprise buildingmonitoring protocol 2202 and corresponding building monitoring component2204. Building monitoring protocol 2202 can instruct controller 416 tomonitor the electricity usage of the building. Controller 416 can thenleverage this information in order to help optimize the power generationof the smart shingle system. For example, controller 416 can track theelectricity usage in the building according to building monitoringprotocol 2202. If power usage is low in the building and powergeneration by the smart shingle system is high, controller 416 caninstruct each smart shingle 402 to use the electricity that it isproducing to charge battery 412 (if present). Once smart shingle 402notifies controller 416 that battery 412 is fully charged, controller416 can then instruct smart shingle 402 to channel the electricity thatit is producing to electrical grid 422.

Building monitoring component 2204 enables controller 416 to monitor thebuilding's power usage. To accomplish this, building monitoringcomponent 2204 can comprise building power usage component 2206, whichcan measure the amount of electricity being consumed by the building inreal-time. Building power usage component 2206 can also note the averageand/or historical power usage of the building. These values can then bestored in memory 2010 and/or building monitoring component 2204. Inorder to perform these functions, building monitoring component 2206 cancomprise any devices comprised by power sensor component 702 explainedabove.

Building monitoring component 2204 can also comprise buildingtemperature component 2208, which can measure temperature differentialsthroughout the building. Controller 416 can leverage such information soas to optimize power generation by smart shingle 402 via thermo-electriccomponent 602. Building temperature component 2208 can comprise anydevice comprised by temperature sensor component 902 explained above.

Now, consider FIG. 23. FIG. 23 depicts an exemplary smart shinglecontroller in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 23 illustrates nearly the same controller 416 as doesFIG. 22. In one embodiment, however, controller 416 can comprisetime/date component 2302. Time/date component 2302 can keep track of thetime of day and/or the time of year. This information can then beleveraged by controller 416 (as well as by each smart shingle 402) tooptimize power generation and/or usage of the smart shingle system. Forexample, many electricity providers offer price discounts forelectricity usage during non-peak hours. By keeping track of the time ofday, controller 416 can instruct each smart shingle 402 to utilize itsown battery 412 if needed during peak hours (i.e. daylight hours).During the night (which is a non-peak time), however, controller 416 canuse power regulation component 2102 to charge any battery 412 that needscharged. In such case, the user saves money by using electricity fromelectrical grid 422 when it is least expensive. In another embodiment,time/date component 2302 can perform the same cost-saving function withregard to the time of year since electricity providers may raise pricesin the summer due to increased demand. Furthermore, the informationregarding time of year can be leveraged by controller 416 and/or eachsmart shingle 402 to determine and/or validate their approximationsregarding the weather.

In order to accomplish this, time/date component 2302 can comprise anyclock and/or other electronic timing device known in the art.

Now, consider FIG. 24. FIG. 24 depicts an exemplary smart shinglecontroller in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 24 illustrates nearly the same controller 416 as doesFIG. 23. In one embodiment, however, controller 416 can compriseartificial intelligence component 2402. Artificial intelligencecomponent 2402 can utilize inferential logic and/or pattern recognitionto analyze data collected by each smart shingle's various sensorycomponents as well as building monitoring component 2204 in order tohelp perform system diagnostics. Since artificial intelligence component2402 functions just like artificial intelligence component 1502, theabove discussion of artificial intelligence in paragraphs 00134-00136applies here.

Now, consider FIG. 25. FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary smart shinglecontroller in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

As shown, FIG. 25 illustrates nearly the same controller 416 as doesFIG. 24. In one embodiment, however, controller 416 can compriseinternet connection component 2502. Internet connection component 2502can comprise any wired and/or wireless method/device known in the artthat can facilitate access to the internet. Controller 416 can useinternet connection component 2502 to obtain data regarding localelectricity prices as well as local weather forecasts. Controller 416can then leverage this information, possibly using artificialintelligence component 2402, in order to perform system diagnostics. Forexample, the local weather forecast can be obtained via internetconnection component 2502 and then be used in conjunction withtemperature sensor component 902, pressure sensor component 1002, lightsensor component 1102, and/or moisture sensor component 1202 in order toverify that snow and/or ice (or any other debris) has accumulated on therooftop. Furthermore, local weather forecasts can be leveraged byartificial intelligence component 2402 to create power generation plans.For instance, if the batteries of the smart shingle system are nearlydepleted and the local weather forecast indicates that a storm isapproaching, controller 416 can determine that it would be best tocharge the batteries now using electricity from the grid and/or anyelectricity generated by the smart shingles rather than to forestall thecharging and risk completely depleting the batteries in a time periodduring which solar power generation will be severely limited.

With reference to FIG. 26, an example environment 2610 for implementingvarious aspects of the aforementioned subject matter includes a computer2612. The computer 2612 includes a processing unit 2614, a system memory2616, and a system bus 2618. The system bus 2618 couples systemcomponents including, but not limited to, the system memory 2616 to theprocessing unit 2614. The processing unit 2614 can be any of variousavailable processors. Dual microprocessors and other multiprocessorarchitectures also can be employed as the processing unit 2614.

The system bus 2618 can be any of several types of bus structure(s)including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus orexternal bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available busarchitectures including, but not limited to, 8-bit bus, IndustrialStandard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), ExtendedISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB),Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Universal Serial Bus (USB),Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association bus (PCMCIA), and Small Computer SystemsInterface (SCSI).

The system memory 2616 includes volatile memory 2620 and nonvolatilememory 2622. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basicroutines to transfer information between elements within the computer2612, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 2622. Byway of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 2622 caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory 2620 includes random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM).

Computer 2612 also includes removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. FIG. 26 illustrates, forexample a disk storage 2624. Disk storage 2624 includes, but is notlimited to, devices like a magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tapedrive, Jaz drive, Zip drive, LS-100 drive, flash memory card, or memorystick. In addition, disk storage 2624 can include storage mediaseparately or in combination with other storage media including, but notlimited to, an optical disk drive such as a compact disk ROM device(CD-ROM), CD recordable drive (CD-R Drive), CD rewritable drive (CD-RWDrive) or a digital versatile disk ROM drive (DVD-ROM). To facilitateconnection of the disk storage 2624 to the system bus 2618, a removableor non-removable interface is typically used such as interface 2626.

It is to be appreciated that FIG. 26 describes software that acts as anintermediary between users and the basic computer resources described insuitable operating environment 2610. Such software includes an operatingsystem 2628. Operating system 2628, which can be stored on disk storage2624, acts to control and allocate resources of the computer 2612.System applications 2630 take advantage of the management of resourcesby operating system 2628 through program modules 2632 and program data2634 stored either in system memory 2616 or on disk storage 2624. It isto be appreciated that one or more embodiments of the subject disclosurecan be implemented with various operating systems or combinations ofoperating systems.

A user enters commands or information into the computer 2612 throughinput device(s) 2636. Input devices 2636 include, but are not limitedto, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad,keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TVtuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and thelike. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 2614through the system bus 2618 via interface port(s) 2638. Interfaceport(s) 2638 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, agame port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 2640 usesome of the same type of ports as input device(s) 2636. Thus, forexample, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 2612, andto output information from computer 2612 to an output device 2640.Output adapter 2642 is provided to illustrate that there are some outputdevices 2640 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other outputdevices 2640, which require special adapters. The output adapters 2642include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and soundcards that provide a means of connection between the output device 2640and the system bus 2618. It should be noted that other devices and/orsystems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such asremote computer(s) 2644.

Computer 2612 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s)2644. The remote computer(s) 2644 can be a personal computer, a server,a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance,a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to computer2612. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 2646 isillustrated with remote computer(s) 2644. Remote computer(s) 2644 islogically connected to computer 2612 through a network interface 2648and then physically connected via communication connection 2650. Networkinterface 2648 encompasses communication networks such as local-areanetworks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). LAN technologies includeFiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed DataInterface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE 802.3, Token Ring/IEEE 802.5 and thelike. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-pointlinks, circuit switching networks like Integrated Services DigitalNetworks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, andDigital Subscriber Lines (DSL).

Communication connection(s) 2650 refers to the hardware/softwareemployed to connect the network interface 2648 to the bus 2618. Whilecommunication connection 2650 is shown for illustrative clarity insidecomputer 2612, it can also be external to computer 2612. Thehardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 2648includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and externaltechnologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems,cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

FIG. 27 is a schematic block diagram of a sample computing environment2700 with which the disclosed subject matter can interact. The samplecomputing environment 2700 includes one or more client(s) 2702. Theclient(s) 2702 can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads,processes, computing devices). The sample computing environment 2700also includes one or more server(s) 2704. The server(s) 2704 can also behardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices).The servers 2704 can house threads to perform transformations byemploying one or more embodiments as described herein, for example. Onepossible communication between a client 2702 and a server 2704 can be inthe form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or morecomputer processes. The sample computing environment 2700 includes acommunication framework 2706 that can be employed to facilitatecommunications between the client(s) 2702 and the server(s) 2704. Theclient(s) 2702 are operably connected to one or more client datastore(s) 2708 that can be employed to store information local to theclient(s) 2702. Similarly, the server(s) 2704 are operably connected toone or more server data store(s) 2710 that can be employed to storeinformation local to the servers 2704.

What has been described above includes examples of the subjectinnovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe disclosed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the subjectinnovation are possible. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the disclosed subjectmatter. In this regard, it will also be recognized that the disclosedsubject matter includes a system as well as a computer-readable mediumhaving computer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/orevents of the various methods of the disclosed subject matter.

In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosed subject mattermay have been disclosed with respect to only one of severalimplementations, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageousfor any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent thatthe terms “includes,” and “including” and variants thereof are used ineither the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intendedto be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

In this application, the word “exemplary” is used to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the wordexemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

Various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as amethod, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques. The term “article of manufacture” as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), opticaldisks [e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ],smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive . .. ).

What is claimed is:
 1. A system of smart shingles located on a buildingand capable of automated system diagnostics, comprising: at least oneshingle, wherein the at least one shingle comprises: an electronicprocessor; a computer-readable memory; a solar collector; and a locationcomponent, wherein the location component performs at least one ofdetermining, receiving, or storing an absolute position of the at leastone shingle or a relative position of the at least one shingle inrelation to the system.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at leastone shingle further comprises a thermo-electric component that convertsthermal energy collected from at least one of the sun or a temperaturedifferential within the building into electricity.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising at least one battery, located inside oroutside the at least one shingle, wherein the at least one batterystores DC electricity produced by the solar collector.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, further comprising at least one converter, located inside oroutside the at least one shingle, wherein the at least one converterconverts AC electricity received from the building to DC electricity tobe used for at least one of charging the at least one battery orpowering another component of the at least one shingle.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one shingle further comprises at least onesensor component that is capable of determining an aspect regarding atleast one of an operating condition or a functionality of the at leastone shingle.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one sensorcomponent comprises at least one of: a power sensor component, whereinthe power sensor component is capable of determining at least one of anet electric power output or a net power consumption of the at least oneshingle; an efficiency sensor component, wherein the efficiency sensorcomponent is capable of determining an efficiency with which the atleast one shingle generates electricity; a temperature sensor component,wherein the temperature sensor component is capable of detecting atleast one of a temperature of a surface of the at least one shingle oran ambient temperature associated with the at least one shingle; apressure sensor component, wherein the pressure sensor component iscapable of determining at least one of an amount of pressure or anamount of force that is applied to a surface of the at least oneshingle; a light sensor component, wherein the light sensor component iscapable of at least one of: detecting at least one of a presence oflight or an amount of light incident on a surface of the at least oneshingle; or determining a distance between the at least one shingle andan object that is at least partially obstructing a light which wouldotherwise be incident on a surface of the at least one shingle; amoisture sensor component, wherein the moisture sensor component iscapable of at least one of: detecting at least one of a presence ofliquid, moisture, or humidity or an amount of liquid, moisture, orhumidity on a surface of the at least one shingle; or detecting at leastone of a presence of liquid, moisture, or humidity or an amount ofliquid, moisture, or humidity within the at least one shingle; or acorrosion/continuity sensor component, wherein the corrosion/continuitysensor component is capable of at least one of: determining whether agiven electrical connection within the at least one shingle is severed;or detecting at least one of a presence of corrosion or an amount ofcorrosion of a given electrical connection within the at least oneshingle.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one shinglefurther comprises an artificial intelligence component, wherein theartificial intelligence component is capable of leveraging datacollected by at least one of the at least one sensor component or thelocation component in order to perform at least one of conducting systemdiagnostics or generating recommended solutions.
 8. The system of claim7, wherein the at least one shingle further comprises an inter-shinglecommunication component, wherein the inter-shingle communicationcomponent is capable of allowing the at least one shingle to leveragedata collected by at least one of a sensor component or a locationcomponent of another shingle in the system.
 9. The system of claim 5,further comprising at least one of: a heating component, located insideor outside the at least one shingle, wherein the heating componentgenerates heat by consuming electricity and can be used to help keep theat least one shingle clear of snow or ice accumulation; an actuatorcomponent, located inside or outside the at least one shingle, whereinthe actuator component can perform at least one of: clearing the atleast one shingle of a debris other than snow or ice accumulation; oradjusting an angle of incidence between the at least one shingle and alight that is at least partially incident on the at least one shingle;or an LED component, wherein the LED component is capable of displayingat least one light that is visible from an external view of the at leastone shingle.
 10. The system of claim 5, further comprising a controller,wherein the at least one shingle is communicatively coupled to saidcontroller and wherein said controller comprises: an electronicprocessor; a computer-readable memory; a control program which caninstruct the controller to perform at least one of: determining aneighboring shingle of the at least one shingle; monitoring any datagathered by the at least one sensor component of the at least oneshingle; and conducting system diagnostics for the at least one shingle;a user input component, wherein the user input component allows a userto interact, locally or remotely, with the controller; and anotification component, wherein the notification component notifies auser of data collected by at least one of the at least one sensorcomponent or the location component.
 11. The system of claim 10, whereinthe controller further comprises a power regulation component, whereinthe power regulation component is capable of controlling an amount ofelectricity that is channeled to or from the at least one shingle. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the controller further comprises abuilding monitoring component, wherein the building monitoring componentis capable of determining at least one of a net power usage of thebuilding or an internal temperature of the building.
 13. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the controller further comprises an artificialintelligence component, wherein the artificial intelligence component iscapable of leveraging data collected by at least one of the at least onesensor component or the location component in order to perform at leastone of conducting system diagnostics or generating recommendedsolutions.
 14. A method for performing automated system diagnostics fora smart shingle system located on a building, comprising: employing aprocessor, located in at least one of a shingle of the smart shinglesystem or a controller of the smart shingle system, to execute computerexecutable components stored in a memory to perform the following acts:auto-mapping, by the system, the system of smart shingles to determineat least one of an absolute location of the shingle or a relativelocation of the shingle in relation to the system.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising: collecting, by the system, at least one ofreal-time data or historical data concerning at least one of afunctionality or an operating condition of the shingle; analyzing, bythe system, the collected data to identify a problem concerning theshingle; determining, by the system, appropriate or recommendedsolutions to the problem; and notifying, by the system, a user of thesystem of the problem and corresponding solution.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the data comprise at least one of: a power generationof the shingle; an efficiency of the shingle; at least one of atemperature of a surface of the shingle or an ambient temperatureassociated with the shingle; an amount of pressure or force applied to asurface of the shingle; at least one of a presence, an absence, or anintensity of a light incident on a surface of the shingle; at least oneof: a presence or an absence of at least one of a liquid or a moistureon a surface of the shingle; a presence or an absence of at least one ofa liquid or a moisture within the shingle; and at least one of acontinuity measurement or a level of corrosion regarding an electricalconnection within the shingle or between the shingle and the controller.17. The method of claim 15, further comprising automatically executing arecommended solution, wherein the recommended solution comprises atleast one of: clearing away snow or ice that has accumulated on theshingle by activating at least one heating component that is integratedinto the system; clearing away a debris, other than snow or ice, thathas accumulated on the shingle by activating at least one actuatorcomponent that is integrated into the system; or otherwise divertingelectricity from the building to the shingle.
 18. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, inresponse to execution, cause a system of smart shingles, located on abuilding and comprising a processor, to perform operations, theoperations comprising: automapping the system of smart shingles todetermine at least one of an absolute position of a shingle or arelative position of the shingle in relation to the system.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising:collecting at least one of real-time data or historical data concerningat least one of a functionality or an operating condition of theshingle; analyzing the data to identify a problem concerning theshingle; determining a recommended solution to the problem; andnotifying a user of the system of the problem and the recommendedsolution.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18,wherein the operations further comprise automatically executing therecommended solution, wherein the recommended solution comprises atleast one of: clearing away snow or ice that has accumulated on theshingle by activating at least one heating component that is integratedinto the system; clearing away a debris, other than snow or ice, thathas accumulated on the shingle by activating at least one actuatorcomponent that is integrated into the system; or otherwise diverting anyelectricity from the building to the shingle.